


Another

by melodyrider



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 07:36:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6275473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodyrider/pseuds/melodyrider
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ON HIATUS</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another

Sunlight poured through the open window while you picked up broken glass shards from the wooden floor. Jean was crouched next to you, picking at the tinier pieces while you carefully picked up the larger ones and dropped them into a bucket between the two of you.

“It’s all that damn Jaeger’s fault,” Jean grumbled, a scowl apparent on his face.

“I would argue, but this time it absolutely was Eren’s fault,” you agreed, smirking.

“Why couldn’t the Captain have asked a witness instead of accusing us right away?”

“Well, Mikasa really was the only witness, and she would have just backed up Eren when he said you did it because 1. of course she would take Eren’s side; it’s stupid to think otherwise, and 2. I’m pretty sure she was mad at you for trying to ‘seduce’ her." You made air quotes when you said 'seduce.' “And I use that term very, very, lightly while emphasizing the word ‘trying’,” you chuckled. “Besides, Levi is… Levi. I doubt he’s gonna play detective to find out who threw a god damn rock and broke a window.”

Jean smirked. “Of course you would defend your precious Heichou,” he remarked, pronouncing ‘Heichou’ in a mocking girlish moan. Your eyes widened and you gave him a hard shove as a dark blush blossomed on your face.

“Sh-shut up! Stop implying things that are 100% accurate!” you hissed, making Jean laugh. You glared halfheartedly at him for a few seconds, but it quickly dissolved into a warm smile and light chuckles. Despite your best efforts, you couldn’t find it in yourself to be mad at him, not after you had known each other for so long and been through so much together. You had known each other since you were both children, and you both joined the military together. You had hoped to join the Military Police with him, but narrowly missing the top 10, that wasn’t an option for you. Much to your simultaneous relief and worry, he had ended up joining the Survey Corps, which was what you had decided upon yourself. Essentially, as an only child who wasn’t skilled in making friends, you had always looked up to Jean as a sort of big brother, and he tended to look at you as a little sister. When your family died in the invasion of Trost, it made Jean all you had left, causing you to become even more attached to him, which he completely understood and accepted. In turn, he became immensely protective of you. If people didn’t know otherwise, they would think the two of you really were siblings.

Jean gave you a cheeky grin and gently nudged your side with his elbow. “See? You couldn't stay mad at me even if you tried.” You rolled your eyes and continued cleaning up the broken glass. When you set your hand on the ground in an attempt to give yourself some balance to shift into a more comfortable position, you failed to notice a particularly sharp piece of glass where you leaned your weight on, causing the shard to pierce the skin, crimson blood immediately leaking from the injury and dripping down your hand.

“Shit!” you yelped, lifting your hand quickly to your face to inspect it.

“Heh?” Jean looked over to you in surprise. When his eyes landed on your cut, you could see some worry in them. “You okay there?”

You blanched in realization; you were, as far as you knew, a titan shifter. Your cut would heal in maybe a few seconds, at most. Jean would see. He would find out and tell people. You quickly stood up, desperately trying to hide your hand from Jean’s view. Jean stood up immediately after, following your movement.

“U-um, yeah, I’m fine. I should probably get this checked out.” You turned to try and hurry out of the room.

“W-wait,” Jean spoke up, grabbing your uniform jacket sleeve to stop you, eying you suspiciously. “It looks like nothing… Lemme see it, I could probably patch it up right now.” He gently took hold of your hand in an attempt to look at it more carefully. You yanked your hand out of his grasp.

“No, don’t!” you shouted, but it was already too late. Steam had started to rise from your injury, and slowly, the skin began to repair itself. Your blood ran cold when Jean’s eyes widened, and the realization that you were a titan shifter dawned upon him.

“No way…” he breathed, “damn… you’re a - you’re a fucking shifter.” His voice rose in volume, making you flinch. You had heard him raise his voice before, but never once at you. “And you decided not to tell anyone?!”

You subconsciously began backing away, shaking your head. “N-no, I didn’t… I’m not…” You couldn’t find yourself able to finish any sentences. Jean stepped closer, not letting you increase the distance between the two of you as you continued moving backwards. Anger was apparent on his face as he spoke.

“You are, don’t lie. I’d know that steam from a mile away; you’re healing. You’re a titan.” You kept moving backwards until your back hit the wall. Your mouth was gaping like a fish, though you couldn’t make any words come out while you were still shaking your head. This only seemed to make Jean angrier. “You are, don’t deny it! I’ve hung around Jaeger enough to know a titan shifter when I see one!” His voice continued to rise. “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ANYONE?!”

You looked down, shamefaced, unable to meet Jean’s angry and accusing gaze. Your voice was quiet when you spoke. “…I was scared.” Jean looked at you expectantly.

“Well?” he said. “What did you think they were going to do?” Finally, you forced yourself to look at him.

“We’ve already got a shifter in the Survey Corps. What’s to stop anyone from handing me over to the Military Police to have me killed and dissected for research?” Jean stopped for a moment. No matter how hard you tried to be strong, unreadable, he could always see right through you. He saw the fear, the uncertainty you harbored. He couldn’t find it in himself to blame you for keeping the secret when he saw what possibilities had scared you.

“Erwin wouldn’t let them,” he said, his voice quieter than it had been before, lessening your alarm by the tiniest fraction now that he wasn’t yelling anymore. “Besides, they’ve already proven that Eren is humanity’s last hope, so wouldn’t having two titan shifters make the situation seem a little better?” You remained uncertain.

“He could. I get the feeling the higher ups would think a dissection would be just as helpful as having another shifter on the team.” The thoughts of what might happen to you if they found out sent a chill running down your spine, making you shiver violently.

“Psshh. Nah. What would be the point in getting the information if we can’t put it to use with the shifter?” Jean said, putting you slightly at ease. You averted your gaze again, opting to stare at the floor instead.

“What do you think will happen to me if they find out?” you asked. Jean relaxed a fraction.

“I’m sure you’d be just as fine as Eren was. You’d probably be subject to some of Hanji’s crazy experiments, but I don’t think anything more painful and psychologically damaging than that could ever happen to you.” You nervously raised your head to look Jean dead in the eye.

“Are you gonna tell anyone?” you asked. Jean thought it over and hesitated before answering, like he didn’t think he was making the right choice.

“I probably should, but… we should do it together,” he responded. “That is… i-if you want to. It’s your choice,” he quickly added. You immediately shook your head as a pleading look formed in your eyes.

“No, please. Not yet. I-I don’t even know if I really am a shifter yet.”

“How could you not know? I think your healing abilities are evidence enough..." he said, confused.

“Yeah, but I’ve only got the healing abilities. I tried to shift during the invasion of Trost, to help, but I couldn’t change for the life of me.”

“Well, from what I’ve overheard, you need to have a specific goal and purpose in mind when you shift. Besides, what else could the diagnosis be?” he reasoned. You opened your mouth to argue, but failed to think of anything to say, so you closed your mouth again.

“Can you just… not tell anyone for now?” you asked. Jean gave you a disapproving look before sighing.

“Fine,” he said, turning around and throwing his cleaning rag on the floor. You frowned.

“Jean, you’ve known me since we were kids. Why are you now treating me like I’m planning on killing everyone in their sleep?” you asked.

“I just… I feel like you’re not making the right and responsible decision. Can’t you be mature for once in your damn life?! What good is it to keep a secret of this magnitude?!” He glared coldly at you and clenched his fists tightly, making his knuckles turn white. “By keeping this a secret for even longer, you’re going to heighten your punishment and break the higher-ups’ trust in you. Don’t you see - every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Every punishment you will have brought upon yourself.”

You were speechless while you thought about his words. He was right; you were being selfish and immature, keeping a secret like this from everyone around you. It was a miracle you hadn’t completely shattered your bond with Jean, and you hated lying to your superiors; people you trusted and respected so much.

Would keeping your secret really be worth breaking that?

“…You’re right,” you quietly spoke, after much internal debate.

“Damn right I am,” Jean said. He looked down as his eyebrows knitted together. “If you want... I’ll come with you…” he gently offered. You groaned and turned around, banging your head on the wall.

“I don’t know what to do,” you moaned. “You know me, I’m a follower. I can’t make my own decisions, I depend on others to do that.” You turned your head to the side to look at Jean, still leaning against the wall. “What do you think would be best?”

“Hmm…” Jean thought about it. “I think Erwin should be the first to know.” You flinched slightly.

“If you think that’s best…” you smiled nervously, “I’ll put my trust in your judgment.” Jean gave you a smile and nodded his head. “But do you really think Erwin should be told first?” you asked.

“Yeah, he’s the highest authority here and I’m sure he’ll be the most understanding. He can announce the news tomorrow to everyone. After all, they’re more likely to trust him over us,” he reasoned.

“Wouldn’t they trust any of the superiors more than they trust us? Not just Erwin?” you asked. Jean gave you a small laugh.

“Hahaha, I guess you’re right…” he trailed off. You looked down, counting the lines of the floorboards.

“Jean?” you quietly said. He caught on to the whimper in your voice and frowned.

“Yeah?” Your voice was almost inaudible when you spoke.

“…What if they do try to kill me?” you asked. Jean’s expression changed to a more caring one; the brotherly face that always comforted you in your darkest times.

“I won’t let them,” he stated, seeming to be reassuring himself just as much as he was reassuring you.

“What would you be able to do to stop them if they really did come to that decision?” you asked. He knew what you were doing; you always did this when you were scared. You wanted comfort, reassurance. You wanted to him to promise you that you would be okay, that you would be safe. And if he had any say in it, you would be. “I mean, I knew that I was accepting the possibility of death the moment I joined the Survey Corps, but the possibility being so much more real now, and at the hands of my comrades... It’s… much more troubling.”

“They won’t kill you…” he said again. “If you are indeed a shifter, and if they’re fucking smart enough, they’ll realize that you’re a valuable asset to humanity; that you’re a new hope…” You didn’t argue, though fear was still evident in your expression. Jean placed a hand on your shoulder and gave you a reassuring look.

“You’ll be fine. I’ll be right there with you when you tell them,” he promised. You gave him a smile that showed how thankful you were that he had stuck with you this far, despite the secret you had kept for so long. He didn’t seem to care for you any less because of it; if anything, the danger of how others might react only seemed to make him more protective of you, more determined to keep you safe, and you were eternally grateful for him sticking with you up to now.

“Thanks Horseface,” you laughed nervously. Under any other circumstances, he would have been immensely irritated, but with all the weight you were bearing at the moment paired with the fear ever-present in your mind, he knew you were just making desperate attempts at humor to calm yourself, so he let it slide. Instead, he gave you a gentle smile, a silent reminder that everything would be alright. 

“So… are we telling Erwin first?” you asked.

“That was the plan, wasn’t it?”

“Should we go do it now?” Jean gave a small, wordless nod, and you pushed yourself off the wall. “Alright, lead the way.”

“Of course,” he said, walking off while you quickly followed behind him.

Throughout the walk to Erwin’s office, you fidgeted nervously, shifting while you walked behind Jean as you allowed your legs to follow behind while your mind raced. You had arrived far sooner than you would have liked, but nothing could be done about it now. Jean looked back to you and saw you trembling slightly, but decided to not say anything about that.

“You ready?” he asked. You tightly gripped your hands together and looked down, trying desperately to steel your courage.

“Ready as I can be, I guess,” you murmured. He gave a nod.

“Good. Shall we?” he said, gesturing to the door. You cowered back a little.

“C-can you do the talking?” you asked, voice extremely quiet.

“Yeah, okay…” he agreed. You hesitated before stepping forward, and knocking on the door. Good, solid knocks. Almost immediately, a response came from inside.

“Name, rank, and order of business,” the deep voice of Commander Erwin sounded, slightly muffled from behind the door. You tried to answer but your voice failed you, and you internally cursed yourself while pleadingly looking at Jean. He got the message, and spoke up for you.

Cadets Jean Kirschtein and (F/n) (L/n); we need to speak to you, Sir,” Jean answered. After several seconds filled with crushing tension and the sound of papers shuffling from behind the door, Erwin’s voice spoke again.

“Come in,” he commanded. Jean opened the door, revealing the neat office with Erwin seated at his desk, tall and proud. You stepped inside, Jean following behind you as he closed the door on his way in. You internally panicked when your gaze met that of Corporal Levi, standing slightly to the side with his arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his face directed at you. You silently gulped. Had you interrupted important business?

‘This is pretty damn important too, (F/n)!’ you internally scolded yourself as you moved your gaze back to Erwin’s calm one, finding it much easier to look at than Levi’s hard glare.

You quickly reminded yourself that this was your superior you were in front of, and you stood tall and saluted him, Jean coming to stand next to you and doing the same, still comforting you with his presence.

“At ease,” Erwin told you both, and you allowed your arms to rest at your sides. You had prepared yourself to the best of your ability to talk to Erwin, but since Levi was here as well, you were far more reluctant to speak. Nonetheless, you cleared your throat and forced yourself to talk.

“I-” you couldn’t get any farther before the door to the office slammed open, revealing a disheveled, out-of-breath cadet frantically scanning the office before his eyes landed on Erwin.

“C-Commander!” he cried.

“I would hope that you have something important to say for barging into a superior officer’s office like that,” Levi hissed. The cadet didn’t acknowledge the Corporal in the slightest, keeping his panicked gaze solely on Erwin.

“T-titans are… breaching the wall!” he panted heavily, making everyone in the room’s eyes grow wide.

“We’ll finish this later,” Erwin told you, rising from his desk while Levi had already started towards the door. “Right now, both of you need to get ready for battle.”

“Sir!” you and Jean said in unison, saluting once more before quickly leaving the office to get your 3DMGs on while telling anyone you saw on the way, “Wall’s being breached; get your gear on.” When you and Jean reached the storage for the Maneuver Gears, you quickly pulled them on and began strapping them on.

“Guess we’ll have to hold off on telling Erwin,” you mumbled, other soldiers already beginning to enter the storage area and pull on their gears.

“Yeah,” Jean breathlessly agreed. “You better stay alive long enough to tell him,” he snapped. You gave a little laugh, tightening one of the straps around your form.

“That was kinda my intention; I’ll try, no promises.” As soon as the both of you were battle ready, you went outside to see most of the others already mounting their horses, getting ready to leave. You and Jean parted ways to find your mounts, glancing at each other one last time to silently wish each other luck.

***

You swung around onto the roof of a partially destroyed building, checking your blades once you were stable.

“Still good for another kill…” you mumbled to yourself, eyes scanning the land around you for titans to kill. Your gaze landed on a 13 meter wandering aimlessly, facing the side. A smirk tugged at your lips as you shot your wires and flew towards the nape. One blade held backwards, you shot a single wire, making you spin like a top as you had seen the Corporal do so many times before. You flawlessly sliced out the nape of the neck, and the titan stood still for a second before falling forward to the ground. You used the edge of your green cloak to wipe your forehead of perspiration as you continued searching for titans to slaughter when you spotted one in the distance looking down at the ground. You used your gear to get closer, and when you saw what the titan was staring at, your heart nearly stopped.

Levi was low, close to the ground, with a frustrated expression using his gear to try and escape the titan pursuing him, murderous intent clear in its gaze accompanied by the sadistic grin on its face. Levi was going far slower than you knew he could, leading you to think the worst.

‘Is something wrong with his gear…?’ you thought worriedly. Even Humanity’s Strongest couldn’t do much without his Maneuver Gear functioning. You saw another figure swoop down near him, and you immediately recognized the copper hair and face you were so familiar with, making your eyes widen in horror. For a few good seconds, you couldn’t move. You were paralyzed.

“Jean, you fucking idiot…” you whispered as you watched him trying to help Levi in escaping and failing. Your eyes snapped back to the titan, getting closer and closer to the pair. Finally, you snapped out of your trance and your mind raced with your options that were quickly narrowing with each step the titan took. Your blades were useless by now; you were too reckless on the last kill, and they dulled beyond use. Maybe you could distract the titan long enough for them to escape...? No, it didn’t seem like it was going to be focusing anything other than its prey on the ground. Suddenly, an image flashed in your mind.

The top half of a steaming, skinless titan with its arm raised, having blocked a cannon shell to defend its friends. If you could do the same thing…

Without a second more of thought, you leapt off of the roof, bulleting towards the pair on the ground. Jean saw you, and shouted at you.

“(F/n), stop!” he yelled, but you ignored him. You pushed your 3DMG as fast as it would go, and you tackled the pair, one arm wrapping around Levi, one around Jean. ‘If I can transform, now would be a damn good time to do it… It doesn’t matter what happens to me after this, just defend them…’ you thought, twisting your head around to sink your teeth into your hand.

Instantaneously, there was a lightning strike. Not one as spectacular as you had seen with a titan shifter fully transforming, but it was there, so something must have happened; you could only hope it would be enough to defend against the titan. You felt two muscles spring from your back, effectively tearing through the back of your shirt and uniform jacket, and they shot out from under the cloak. You quickly tensed them, trying to get a feel of what they were.

‘Wings?’ you thought. ‘Alright, wings; wings are good, I can work with this.’ By what you felt, you had to guess they were about twice as large as you were and weren’t unlike those of a bat, which was a good thing. Without a second thought, you wrapped the masses of muscle and leathery skin around yourself and the two that you held tightly, not allowing any holes for any possibility of them being injured, keeping them around you like a shield, cutting off the sunlight and forcing you into darkness. You focused your energy on one thing; hardening them with crystal, like you saw the Female Titan do. As soon as the thought crossed your mind, a milky white crystal grew over the wings, hardening them to a nearly indestructible level. Like the time Annie had encased herself in a crystal, you were basically trying to recreate that, except with a hollow inside to keep yourself, your superior, and your best friend alive.

Not a second later than you had hardened your wings than you felt a crushing weight smash down on top of the crystal. Okay, so the titan wasn’t trying to eat you, it was simply trying to crush you. You felt the shell you had created be smashed into the ground, almost being pushed through the cobblestone street. You weren’t sure how much longer you would be able to keep the shield up, but you were determined to maintain it for as long as necessary to keep the two people in your grasp alive. Your grip on them tightened while you grunted with effort to keep the crystal encasing the wings wrapped around you.

Suddenly, the weight stopped pressing down, and seconds later you felt the ground shake. All you could guess was that someone had killed the titan. You felt an unbearable heat hit the crystal shell and your wings, but you didn’t dare release yourselves from the crystal yet for fear of exposing Jean and Levi to the heat and it being too much for them.

Then the heat finally faded and you felt confident that the titan had disintegrated, you allowed yourself to relax. Your head dropped against a clothed chest; Jean’s or Levi’s, you couldn’t tell, and you honestly couldn’t care less right now. You were exhausted from transforming, even if just partially, and keeping up the crystal barrier up for so long; you probably weren’t meant to keep it up for as long as you did, but there really were no other options that you could see at the time. Your chest heaved with heavy pants and your eyelids began to droop. All you wanted to do right now was sleep. The crystal began to break away in little flakes at a fast pace, quickly fading completely. 

Slowly, you unwrapped the wings from around yourself and your two comrades, allowing sunlight to break through the growing opening until you folded the wings against your back with some difficulty, as you were still getting used to them. 

Some more figures swooped down from the rooftops and landed in front of you, but you were still reluctant to let go of the males you held in your arms. You saw some titan blood evaporating from a green cloak from one of the figures that squatted down in front of you, and you could only guess that this was who killed the titan, though you were too far gone to make out the silhouetted face.

Levi and Jean carefully pried themselves from your grasp, much to your dismay, but you were unable to do anything other than lie there. Your body tingled and your vision slowly closed in, consciousness fading from you while you breathed shakily. Your last thoughts were scrambled, mostly consisting of what possibilities faced you now that it was clear what you were. The possibility that they would kill you seemed far more real now. You had saved Levi’s and Jean’s lives; now all you could do before you fell into the warm, dark abyss that unconsciousness provided was hope that they would do the same for you.


End file.
